The Yankees lost the playoff game tonight against the Rangers 10-6. Overall, they have lost three series in a row, two of three against the Nationals, Cardinals and Texas. They had a good chance to get a series win and stay ahead of the Orioles in the AL East standings on Tuesday, but Ton Holmes gave up a walk-off grand slam against Wyatt Langford in a 7:4 defeat.
It was the 11th save attempt Holmes has blown this year, three more than any other pitcher. While the Yankees haven’t officially relieved the right-hander of his role as closer, it appears they will move to more of a committee approach in the short term. Before tonight’s game, captain Aaron Boone told reporters he’ll be “creative” in the ninth inning (X-Link via Jack Curry of the YES Network). Boone indicated Holmes remains in the running for save opportunities, though it doesn’t look like he’ll get every one of them automatically.
Holmes, to his credit, has not pitched badly overall despite the ugly blown save mark. He has a solid ERA of 3.27 over 55 innings. His strikeout percentage of 25.2% and his walk rate of 8% are fine. Opponents have grounded out nearly two-thirds of their batted balls. Among relievers with over 50 innings, only his teammate Tim Hill threw grounders more often. ERA estimates such as FIP (2.91) and SIERA (2.82) still suggest that Holmes was an excellent pitcher.
Despite his impressive stats, Holmes has walked a fine line at times over the course of the year. At the beginning of the season, he was absolutely dominant. He did not allow an earned run until May 20, a series of 20 games and just as many innings. Since then, Holmes has had an earned run average of 5.14 after 35 innings. The good control he showed at the beginning has become noticeably shakier in recent weeks. Holmes will be a free agent for the first time in his career at the end of the year.
His ups and downs are compounded by a bullpen that hasn’t been particularly impressive of late. The Yankee relief pitchers rank 22nd in ERA since the All-Star break. That’s partly due to Holmes, but their deadline pickups of Mark Leiter Jr. And Enyel De Los Santos have not proven themselves. De Los Santos was dismissed in five appearances and quickly dismissed. Leiter has been very prone to home runs since his arrival in the Bronx. Home runs have also been a problem for Lukas Weber And Jake Cousins.
Aside from Holmes, the Yankees have done their most important work on Tommy Kahnle and Leiter in the second half. Kahnle pitched well and could get some save chances. Boone also left the door open for a possible final appearance for one of the two. Luis Gil or Clarke Schmidt (X-Link via Curry).
Both pitchers return from the injured list this weekend. They will both occupy a rotation spot for the upcoming game against the Cubs. The Yankees will continue with a six-man rotation into next week before deciding whether to move someone to the reliever. Nestor Cortes seems to be the most likely candidate to move to the bullpen, although he doesn’t have the speed one would normally associate with a closer. Gil and Schmidt have more of the makings of the prototypical closer.
